The reference literature for Islam has long consisted of either a densely academic, multivolume encyclopedia or several, often specialized, single-volume works with brief definitions. Happily, there is now a reference work falling between these two extremes. The Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World is a scholarly work “about Islamic cultures, religion, history, politics, and the like as well as the people who have identified with Islam over the past fourteen centuries.”

A team of international scholars is responsible for the 515 entries, which are arranged alphabetically and range from 200 to 5,000 words in length. Many include some sort of illustration and end with helpful see also references and excellent supplemental bibliographies. A useful index completes the set. Coverage includes the religious dimensions of Islam as well as the development of the tradition in various parts of the world (e.g., Africa, South Asia, U.S.). Cultural issues of importance to the history of Islam (e.g., architecture, calligraphy, language) are also treated. Entries such as Political organization and Political thought demonstrate the historical completeness for which the encyclopedia strives, tracing developments from the life of the Prophet to the present day. Even topics of contemporary interest include a historical perspective. The entry for Jihad describes the many meanings of the term, including its contemporary association with violence, and how the concept has developed historically. The treatment of secularization in the Muslim world includes a comparison to historical events in the West, thereby helping the reader to understand that it cannot be understood solely from a Western perspective. Finally, the biographical entries include important figures from the religious, cultural, and political history of the Muslim world.

Does your physician wear a head scarf because of religious beliefs? How does an American teenager who practices Islam juggle hectic teen life with religious respect? Are you an American Muslim who has a close friend who is not, or are you a non-Muslim with friends who practice Islam? What can you learn from each other?
We’re offering a $20,000 Grand Prize for the best new and creative short video that reflects the American Muslim experience. Everyone in the U.S. is invited to compete, regardless of race or religion, so grab a camera, pick an assignment, read our online tips, and get filming.

The Iranian production depicting the life of Mary mother of Jesus from classical Islamic readings. A two-hour long movie originally in Persian and dubbed into English by the Wilayah Network. It is the story of the life of Mary and the birth of Jesus Christ – a prophet in Islamic tradition. Along with the character of Saint Mary, this film also presents the Righteous character of Prophet Zacharias, the guardian of Saint Mary.

WASHINGTON, DC – Amid disturbing revelations that the verdicts of Islamic Sharia courts are now legally binding in civil cases in the United Kingdom, U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo (R-Littleton) moved quickly today to introduce legislation designed to protect the United States from a similar fate.

According to recent news reports, a new network of Sharia courts in a half-dozen major cities in the U.K. have been empowered under British law to adjudicate a wide variety of legal cases ranging from divorces and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence.

“This is a case where truth is truly stranger than fiction,” said Tancredo. “Today the British people are learning a hard lesson about the consequences of massive, unrestricted immigration.”

Sharia law, favored by Muslim extremists around the world, often calls for brutal punishment – such as the stoning of women who are accused of adultery or have children out of wedlock, cutting off the hands of petty thieves and lashings for the casual consumption of alcohol. Under Sharia law, a woman is often required to provide numerous witnesses to prove rape allegations against an assailant – a near impossible task.

“When you have an immigration policy that allows for the importation of millions of radical Muslims, you are also importing their radical ideology – an ideology that is fundamentally hostile to the foundations of western democracy – such as gender equality, pluralism, and individual liberty,” said Tancredo. “The best way to safeguard America against the importation of the destructive effects of this poisonous ideology is to prevent its purveyors from coming here in the first place.”

CAIRO — Devout Muslims and secularists are using the world’s second largest social networking website Facebook to debate the role of Islam in their societies, reported the Los Angeles Times on Friday, September 19.

“Secularism is refused by all means,” Mohamed Amer, an Egyptian, writes in a comment on a Facebook page.

Amer said most Muslims aspire to see Islam play a bigger role in their societies.

“In fact, it goes against the will of the Egyptian, the Arab and Muslim peoples who crave Islamic rule,” he writes.

“National interests rest in the adherence to Islam and faith.”

Amr Ali, an Egyptian dental student, has founded a Facebook group to confront efforts to promote secularism in Muslim societies.

“I’m very surprised at all the secular Facebook groups out there,” he said.

“Secular and atheist groups are posting on my group, accusing Islam of promoting terrorism,” said Ali, whose group “We the Muslim Youth Can Change This World” has attracted nearly 22,000 members.

“I’m concerned. They are young people and they are lost, following misleading slogans. Some of them are totally against religion and all the prophets.”

Facebook has grown to more than 70 million users worldwide to be the second social networking website after MySpace.

Founded in 2004, Facebook’s membership was initially restricted to students of the Harvard University.

It was later expanded to other universities in the United States and later to any student with a university email address from all over the world.

COLOGNE, Germany (AFP) — German police said tens of thousands of Cologne residents took to the streets Saturday in protest at an “anti-Islamisation” conference of European far-right leaders.

Carrying banners saying: “We are Cologne — Get rid of the Nazis!,” protesters gathered outside the city’s cathedral to demonstrate against the congress organised by the local far-right group Pro-Koeln (For Cologne).

Pro-Koeln began two days of seminars Friday during which speakers denounced an influx of Muslims to Germany and the construction of one of Europe’s largest mosques in the city.

Earlier Saturday, police banned a rally organised by far-right adherents in Cologne just as it was about to begin, following clashes with thousands of opponents.

Some 3,000 police, drafted in to control the protests and seal off part of the old city, used truncheons and water hoses to fend off violent “anti-fascist” leftist activists.

“It is a dictatorship!” said a Pro-Koeln member of the decision to ban the far-right rally.

Andreas Molzer, a member of the European Parliament and an Austrian far-right group who attended the congress, called the ban an “anti-democratic scandal.”

“Quranflash” had started in February 2007 as a simple microsite displaying the Holy Quran (Medina layout), in a very interactive way. The project had taken approximately 2 months of work to be accomplished by a few volunteers. The idea behind Quranflash came from a project developed and managed by the same members, Flash-eBook.com. Flash-eBook is an online service which digitizes books and displays them in a very attractive and easily interactive way, using flash technology. Quranflash was initially a demo for large scale applications using Flash-eBook.

However, Quranflash had opened people’s hearts and became a popular method of reading Quran, receiving unexpected numbers of over 10 thousand visitors daily. Therefore a decision was made to renovate the website design-wise as well as function-wise, especially incorporating the option of selecting among different Quran books to read. It is worth noting here to our fellow non-Muslims that there is only one version of the Quran, but the different books here represent different styles of writing to enhance the reading, understanding, and/or memorization process. This renovation has taken approximately 4 months, and through Allah’s will, was completed by the end of August 2007.